Soup and Substance event spreads cultural awareness
Students became educated on Middle Eastern culture at the packed Soup and Substance event April 18 in the Bovee University Center terrace rooms.
The Middle Eastern Heritage Week edition of Soup and Substance included three panelists: sophomore Layal Bou Harfouch, Lebanon graduate student Mariam Saad and Pakistan sophomore Mohammad Khan.
The panelists sought to dispel some of the misconceptions they felt others held about those from and in the Middle East.
“The more you meet Muslims in the United States the more you will realize how similar we are,” Khan said.
The role of CMU in the lives of Middle Eastern students was also discussed.
“People don’t really know I am Middle Eastern when they see me,” Khan said. “I am really proud of where I come from and what my family has done.”
He said educating people about Middle Eastern culture felt like a privilege. He encouraged people to be curious about it and to be open. That included asking him questions about his culture.
Saad later remarked that she felt respected, but not represented at CMU.
Both Khan and Saad explained that people are more connected and more willing to help in their native country compared to Mount Pleasant.
Khan and Harfouch elaborated, saying they experienced much more racism and discrimination in their hometowns of Macomb and Maddison Heights than in Mount Pleasant.
Each panelist had ways for people to move forward. The biggest advice was to be open, honest and curious. The panelists were adamant that educating people about their culture was something they enjoyed.
“There is more than just black and white. Don’t assume things about people,” Harfouch said.
Students such as Macomb junior Austin Woodside attended the event to get an inside loook into a foreign culture.
“I am hoping to learn ways that I can be informed when communicating with future students that are of Middle Eastern decent and things to know going forward with my instruction in the classroom,” Woodside said.
The event was sponsored by the Multicultural Academic Student Services and was free and open to the public.
